(thanks to Sixers Hoops for the logic breakdown)
UPDATES: Zack Lowe is reporting that the Pacers pick is the one being taken. The NBA and the Clippers did not reach an agreement and LA will appeal. The situation will go to court rather than an arbitrator. That process is broken down here.
Shams reported today that punishment for the Kawhi Leonard / Clippers cap circumvention scandal has finally come down and it’s crazy:
- Clippers forfeit 5 1st round picks: 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033
- Steve Ballmer fined $30m
- Suspensions for Ballmer, GM Lawrence Frank, and President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker
- Leonard has to pay $700k in restitution (which doesn’t make much sense)
- His former agent and uncle, Uncle Dennis, is banned from all NBA business dealings
If you are into the legal portion of this situation, there’s a difference between the NBA announcing the punishment and the punishment taking affect. They could appeal the decision. However, Leonard has already announced that he accepts his role in what happened. This could mean that the sides actually negotiated this punishment which would mean that everything is final. Still waiting on confirmation. UPDATE: The Clippers are appealing but they do not have an appeal option within the league apparently. They will have to sue the league for abuse of process
Assuming it is final, the big question for Sixers fans is, “what happens with our 2029 Clippers pick?” When the Sixers traded James Harden to LA, they received a 2028 unprotected pick and a 2029 pick swap. That 2028 pick has since been traded in the Jaylen Brown deal (though there is still a slim chance we keep it in some way). That 2029 pick though? If it forfeits, then what happens?
Official word is not out yet, but logically, the Sixers would keep their swap rights with the 2029 pick and then the pick would be forfeited after that is settled. That means if the Clippers have a worse record than the Sixers and the lottery plays out right, then the Sixers get their pick and the original Sixers pick disappears. Of course, this is the Sixers, the NBA, and Dave Silver we are talking about, so I never feel as though things will go fair or logically.
There is another possibility. The Clippers own the Pacers first round pick from the Ivica Zubac trade. The NBA could take that pick away instead and leave the Sixers alone.
What stinks is that there is no real penalty to the Clippers right now. Leonard will still go to the Raptors meaning Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and a first will go to LA. They will have very little bad contracts on their books after next season meaning that they could possibly load up on free agents for the swap year. Granted, their ability to trade for stars will be limited because of the lack of future draft picks, but they will still have some current picks to send on their ledger. There is the other end of either the Sixers or Pacers picks as well as the pick they are getting for Kawhi and anything they could possibly get in the future for Darius Garland and/or Brandon Ingram.
Photo: jbiggi10, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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